Our Journey
by Ai Tennshi
Summary: How might things have been before the Fire Nation attacked? Did all benders treat each other equally...or did a sort of prejudice exist anyway, at a more subconscious level?


_Author's Note: This was one of a number of challenge fics that I did with a friend. Requirements were the word of the day on dictionary dot com, a reference to a song of your choice, and other requirements chosen differently for each story._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I do not own Mary Had a Little Lamb._

**Word:** 'sui generis'

**Song:** _Mary Had A Little Lamb_

**Requirements:** Must be set in the world of Avatar, but with all original characters. There must be a book, dinner plates, a theft, a button that fits nothing that belongs to any of the characters, and the quote "I don't want your chump change". It must be in first person from the point of view of one of the benders.

**Genre:** General

**Rating:** PG

**Our Journey**

It was a strange day, to say the least. I didn't even know that so many things could change in one day. But maybe I should start at the beginning.

You see, I was on a shopping trip with my elder sister, Vivian, her best friend, Naga, and my best friend, Sora. The four of us needed some supplies for a trip we were planning to take. The four of us were exceptional benders—Vivian and myself being fire benders, Naga an earth bender, and Sora an air bender—so we were to go to someone who they call the 'Avatar' for training. Rumor has it that the Avatar has all four bending powers, but I've never believed that. I bet it's some sort of group with members of each bending power.

It all started out normally; we went to the market chatting happily. I hummed 'Mary Had A Little Lamb', as was my custom to hum random songs that no one else liked at random times.

"We're almost at the bookstore," Naga, an avid reader, suddenly remarked. "Why don't we go in?"

"Why?" I asked, disgusted. I've never liked books in the first place, and the idea of taking them along with us on our trip was just…sickening. "You don't actually intend to _read_ when we get there, do you?"

"Come on, Agni," Sora smiled. "It wouldn't hurt to just look." I glared at her.

"You don't seriously mean that?" I demanded, half in jest. "You know how much I despise books. Honestly, what's the point in reading about other people's lives when you could be out instead, experiencing your own? And why not just ask people for stories about their lives if you really want to hear a story?"

Don't get me wrong; I love stories. I just don't understand reading. I'm pretty well known in our town, since I've gone to everyone and asked them to tell me stories about their lives over and over again. Vivian tells me that when I was younger, Mother and Father were certain that I would be an avid reader—just like Naga, Vivian's best friend even then—when I got older. They died before I came to a reading age, but Vivian tells me that she was shocked enough to see that I hated reading. "To each his own," she always laughs when she tells me about this.

"To each his own, Agni," Vivian said in her quiet voice with a small smile. She was a woman of few words, but I knew her well enough to know that her words meant, "no more complaining, Agni," and her smile meant "be nice and come into the bookstore with us." I scowled at her back, but when we reached the bookstore, I followed the other three in without complaint.

We didn't stay long. I spent the time chatting with the storekeeper—debating, actually. It was a custom of ours, that every time I entered his store (I was always with someone else when I did), we would debate over the necessity of books while my companion sought out his or her books. The others didn't buy anything, though I saw Sora looking at one book with a red binding and gold writing wistfully. I made a mental note to return and see what it was later—it isn't often that Sora reads or wants to read, although she has nothing against reading.

I followed them out of the store, and expected that we would head for the food store next. However, to my surprise, Sora stopped in front of a chinaware store.

"Let's have a look around here," she said enthusiastically. I was shocked. _Chinaware_? On a journey through the mountains? As if she had heard my thoughts, Sora hastily added, "Not to buy anything, just to look."

Vivian, the unofficial leader of our little group and kind and giving as her nature went, agreed, so we ended up in the chinaware store. This was one shop that I rarely frequented. I sort of wandered around, looking at things without much enthusiasm, while I waited for Sora to finish whatever it was that she wanted to do. I was just about to turn away from the shelf I was looking at when a certain set of two dinner plates caught my eyes. They were identical, but each the mirror image of the other. They were beautiful—made in delicate white circles, decorated around the edges with carvings that were accented with blue glaze. The designs made no particular picture, but the swirls and twists and turns of the lines showed that they had been made with extreme care.

I stared at them in awe for a few minutes, and then went on looking at the various things in the shop without really seeing them.

"Hm?" I turned at the sound of Naga's voice. She was picking something small up from the floor. I approached curiously, as did Sora and Vivian.

"What is that?" I asked. It was a tiny golden…thing. I had no idea what it was.

"A button," Naga replied promptly, turning it over. It had a little loop on the other side that showed us that it was, indeed, a button. "It's not mine, though…I don't have anything that could have a button this small. You?" She looked up at us, but we all shook our heads. I'm telling you, it was _tiny_!

Naga placed the button on a shelf, and then we left, agreeing that there was no more to see. Sora looked a little disappointed, but I was glad to leave. The shopkeeper had been glaring at me the whole time, and it was honestly unnerving.

We had just reached the end of the road and were about to turn when there was an angry shout from behind us.

The four of us turned around, bewildered, to see the shopkeeper of the chinaware shop running towards us. Well, he was trying—he was too fat to be doing anything other than waddling. We waited patiently as he approached, huffing and puffing.

"You stole my button!" he said accusingly, pointing at me. Yes, at me. Not at all of us; at me.

Naturally bewildered, I stared.

"Pardon?" I was certain that I'd heard wrong or…or something.

"You stole my button!" he accused again, his voice higher. Okay, so I'd heard right. But what made him think that I'd steal his button?

"Why would I steal it?" I asked as politely as I could. "It was much too small to fit anything that I own."

"See, you know what I'm talking about!" he screeched. People were coming out of shops and other streets to see what the commotion was about. Not that I blame them. Our town is pretty boring.

"I saw it on the floor in your shop," I replied, still attempting to be polite. It was difficult, to say the least. Hey, don't blame me; he was actually _screeching_ at me!

"Liar!" he accused. "You did no such thing! I would never leave that on the floor! It was a sui generis button made of pure gold, girl! I'm taking you with me to the authorities!" He began to drag me off. I looked to my sister and friends, but to my absolute shock, they were staring at me suspiciously. What did I do to make them think that I'd stolen the button? I thought back. Well…I'd been the last one to exit the shop, so I guess I had the opportunity. And I did my fair share of shoplifting when I was younger. But that was when I was younger! I grew out of that stage years ago!

"Please release me, sir," I said angrily. His hand only tightened and he continued yelling at me as he dragged me off. I couldn't hear what he was saying—his grip honestly _hurt_! And would you believe that my sister and our two friends just stood there, staring? I found it unbelievable!

Suddenly, a strong hand pried that of the angry shopkeeper off of my arm. I almost slumped to the ground in relief, but stayed standing, just rubbing my now-numb arm with relief.

"She's not a thief," a familiar voice said beside me. My eyes snapped open. Well, wasn't today full of firsts? First my family and friends suspect me of thievery, and then my greatest enemy saves me? I resisted the urge to pinch my arm to see if it was a dream. "I did, however, happen to see you putting something in your pocket as you ran out here." That last part was said in a whisper, and I'm pretty sure that the shopkeeper and I were the only ones who heard.

The shopkeeper paled; I blinked. What, was he trying to rob himself? No, I realized. If he made me pay for that gold button, he could easily make a fortune. And didn't he claim to be robbed quite frequently, considering the fact that it was a very peaceful town? I'd never considered it before, because his shop _did_ have some of the most valuable things in the town, but maybe…

"I…I…" stuttered the shopkeeper. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some money, using our three bodies to shield it so that no one else could see. "I'll give you this…" he said, holding it out to Yu. "Just don't tell anyone…"

Yu glared down coldly at the money in the man's hand. I gasped. It was a very large sum. Did he actually carry that much with him wherever he went?

"I don't want your chump change." I looked at Yu in shock. "I won't tell anyone, and neither will Agni." I blinked. Had the Conceited Moron just used my name? "But if I ever hear about you saying that there was a theft from your shop again, and there's no evidence to support your claim, or I find that the evidence was faked…" He trailed off menacingly. What that shopkeeper was doing was worse than stealing. Personally, I didn't feel any sympathy for him at all. The shopkeeper gave a squeak and ran off. I stared after him, and then turned to Yu.

"Thanks, Con- Yu," I corrected myself. He deserved more respect than I'd given him up until then. He grinned at me.

"No problem. I noticed you were in need of help." He spoke with raised eyebrows, shooting a glance back at Vivian, Sora, and Naga. I grinned back.

"I was. He was really hurting my arm." I rubbed it and winced. There was going to be a bruise there, later… "But Yu… 'chump change'? About that amount?" He shook his head seriously, his long black hair blowing in the winter wind.

"Any money gained dishonestly is less than that to me. That guy's lucky I didn't start swearing at him." I found myself considering Yu. Why had we gotten off on the wrong foot anyway? Thinking back, I found that our enmity was unfounded. It was simply that Yu was a water bender and I was a fire bender, and no matter what I did, he always had an advantage over me. I guess I'd hated that at some point more than I can recall…

But what happened after that isn't important. The point is, Yu and I are now friends. And I forgave Vivian, Sora, and Naga (hey, like I said, I _did_ shoplift like a hobby at one point in my life), but in a single day, I've come to trust the one who was my greatest enemy this morning more than those that I considered my best friends. Yu, as it turned out, was supposed to come along with us. So tomorrow we'll be leaving. Oh, naturally, I'm looking forward to spending time with Yu much more than the others. I've known him for years, and I'm surprised to find that I even know his favorite color, despite our enmity. But Vivian, Sora, and Naga are wary of him. They've never really known him, and it's natural that they be wary, since I've been saying nothing but bad about him for years.

It ought to be an interesting trip, to say the least.


End file.
